->> Just checked with my camera store about getting a new reader, and it turns out Sandisk and Lexar have discontinued Firewire 800 readers to make way for USB 3.0.

So if you have a need, better start shaking the trees of Amazon or elsewhere now before they become scarce. I am mixed on this considering how disappointing usb 2.0 was and never lived up to its benchmarks. My other concern is if Apple doesn't come out with 3.0 enabled computers in the Spring, then they are setting themselves up for a steep blow, since the rumors of firewire 1600 now seem dead.

->> Update, the rumor from Apple is they aren't in a hurry for usb 3.0, as they are working with Intel on another interface called Lightpeak, which claims a theoretical 10gb/ps and up to 100gb/s by 2020.

That's all well and good, but if the card reader companies are only focused on 3.0, and firewire goes the way of the betamax, then what kind of doldrum will Apple be caught in if photographers want fast downloads and are stuck with usb 2.0 for the next year? Now, it is being rumored that Apple might be releasing spring computers with lightpeak, I just hope card readers aren't far behind!

->> Colin,I have not used an eSATA card reader but have used an eSATA hard drive dock. The problem with my eSATA hard dock is that I have to restart my system in order for the docked hard drive to get recognized. Hopefully, it is not the same with the Addonics card reader because that seems to be the faster way to go.

->> Gerry, I haven't used that configuration but have used a eSATA adapter in my Mac Book Pro as a way to connect to a raid drive and been very happy with how quickly it is recognized (and transfers data).

However, I do use a Lexar reader in the same express card slot and have some problems from time-to-time with it crashing. Thankfully it's fairly rare. However, sometimes when plugging a card into that reader can take 30 seconds or so for it to be recognized which does sound similar to your problem. Fortunately, after recognizing the card it runs great.

I have the Addonics eSATA reader, but use it on my PC desktop. It's marginally faster than my FW800 readers but the limiting factor at those speeds is the card, not the reader. (Never mind that no one yet makes a decent FW800 interface for the PC yet.)

No reader can transfer files faster than the card that's in it. The theoretical maximum for FW800 is 100 MB/sec while the theoretical maximum for the Addonics (in eSATA mode) is 187.5 MB/sec. Stack that up against the theoretical maximum of 90 MB/sec for any CF card currently made and you see what the bottleneck is.

Real world, the Addonics on my system can hit about 70 MB/sec read with an Extreme Pro card. That's comparable to FW800 speeds but actually a bit slower than the fastest ExpressCard readers.

I have a USB 3.0 "card reader" that I'm getting ready to test on a PC - at least, that's what the people at PhotoFast call it. It's really a small enclosure intended for permanent mounting of cards - it's external, but you have to "take it apart" to insert the CF card. Not sure how well this will work, but it's claimed to be "the first."

But again, the limiting feature right now are the cards - while USB 3.0 will be faster with current UDMA cards than USB 2.0 readers, it won't be much faster (if at all) than current FW800 and eSATA solutions.

"The trio have just officially proposed a new memory card format that switches from PATA to the PCI Express serial interface to achieve data transfer rates of up to 500 megabytes per second with a potential to extend maximum storage capacities beyond 2 terabytes."